Will and I must've accidentally fell asleep in his bed, because we're suddenly woken by the sound of his door opening. My body jolts and my tired eyes blink open, staring at the woman who is gawping at me.

It's his mum.

I gulp and glance over at Will, remembering how he said we'll leave before his parents get back because he doesn't want me to meet them. I know it's because he doesn't get along with him, but my anxiety picks at my brain and tries to trick me. It tells me over and over again that he's embarrassed of me and that's why he doesn't want me to meet his parents.

It's not true. He's not embarrassed of me. He's not.

Will looks horrified that we fell asleep for so long that we didn't get a chance to escape his mum. It was impossible not to drift off. We were under the covers, holding hands, my head rested on his chest, listening to our favourite music. I had never been more relaxed. For the first time, I managed to fall asleep with ease. Usually it will take me hours, and I'll have to read book after book until my eyes finally decide to close and relax. When I'm with Will, it's effortless.

"Who's this?" his mum asks, pointing to me.

She's slim and tall with ratty brown hair that is thrown into a ponytail. She wears professional clothes that look too uncomfortable to feel against skin. Wrinkles line her forehead and under her eyes, but she doesn't have much smile lines.

"This is River," Will mumbles. "River, this is my mum."

"Girlfriend?" she guesses.

My cheeks heat up at the awkward interrogation. I should probably greet her and say something, but I've never been any good at talking. My mind is blank and nothing comes to mind, causing me to sit there silently in a panic.

"She's a friend from sixth form," Will tells her, but squeezes my hand under the cover at the same time, trying to tell me that he's sorry.

"Oh, right." His mum stares at me, scanning over my face. "I'm Olivia."

"Nice to meet you," I finally say.

"And you. Are you staying for dinner?"

I look to Will for help.

"She can't stay, she's got to head home soon."

Olivia huffs. "You can't just bring a girl over and not give her any dinner. Where are you manners?"

Will sighs and looks back at me, his eyes tired. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

I glance between him and his mum as sweat begins to form on my forehead. "Oh, that's okay, I need to get home-"

"Ignore what he said. You're welcome to stay for dinner, Riley. You want her to stay? Don't you?" she asks Will.

"Yeah," he mumbles.

The skin on my fingers begin to bleed when I pick too deep. "Um...okay. Sure."

"Great. Dinner will be ready in half an hour. I'll see you down there, Riley."

"River," Will snaps.

"What?"

"Her name is River. Not Riley. Stop calling her that," he informs her harshly.

Olivia rests her hands on her lips. "Don't you dare speak to me like that. You're embarrassing yourself. I didn't mean to get her name wrong. She doesn't mind. Do you, River?"

My heart is racing and my skin is clammy. The smallest things get to me. The smallest things. The smallest things.

Suddenly my clear mind is collapsing on me, allowing the darkness to spill back in.

Why am I like this?

"No," I lie. I don't want to cause any problems, especially not with Will's mum.

She hums in a cocky way, smiling at Will. "See? Stop overreacting all the time."

Olivia finally leaves and allows me to breathe. As soon as the door is closed, the water evaporates from my lungs, and my mind is free once again. However, Will does not look so happy. He's staring at the wall ahead of us, ignoring everything that surrounds him. Including me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

He blinks and furrows his eyebrows. "Why?"

"I should've said something or helped."

He gives me a reassuring smile and then pulls my face down towards him so he can brush his lips against mine. My eyes close and a smile automatically appears on my face.

"It's okay," he promises.

"I can go. I'll make up an excuse."

But Will shakes his head and runs his hand through my hair, holding the back of my head in place. "River, it's okay. Really."

I can tell he's wary about this dinner. As am I. I'm terrified that I'll say something or I'll mess up and embarrass myself. I'm even more terrified that they'll be cruel to Will, because I won't know how to help. I can't fight battles, I can't answer back or get into conflict. What am I supposed to do?

* * *

Forty minutes fly by, and suddenly his mum is calling us downstairs to join them. I blow out a shaky breath and run my hands over my outfit, making sure to straighten it out and look presentable before I would be faced with Will's family.

"Are you ready for this?" he asks, noticing my trembling hands.

I swallow the bile rising up my throat and nod my head. "Are you?"

He shrugs in response, but tries his hardest to smile. "Give my hand a squeeze if you want to leave at any point."

"Okay. Will you do the same?"

This time his smile is genuine. "Yeah."

I can hear quiet chatter and cutlery tapping against plates when we travel down the stairs and head into the dining room. There's a rectangular table in the middle that consists of five seats. One seat must've been added when I was invited for dinner, because I only counted four seats when I first arrived earlier in the day.

Will's dad and mum are both sat next to each other. His little brother is sat on the end, next to his dad. Two seats are available for Will and I to be sat together. I'm thankful I won't be forced to be sat with one of his other family members.

Will's dad stands tall when we walk in. He gives me a charming smile and extends his right hand. "You must be River. I'm Terry."

"Nice to meet you." I shake his hand and smile in return. I can tell he's putting on a performance. I can see right through him. My dad used to do the same in front of friends and strangers, because he wanted to trick them into thinking he was a good person and a great dad.

"You've met Olivia."

I stare at Will's mum. She's drinking from a wine glass.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"This is my youngest son, Klaus."

Klaus takes a stand and mimics his dad's exact actions. He extends a hand and lifts a smile. "Pleasure to meet you."

Just like his dad, I can tell he's putting on an act.

"And you."

Klaus grins at Will, but in a taunting way that sends shivers down my spine. "I'm surprised."

"About what?" Will questions, already seeming annoyed by his family who sit back down at the table.

"That you brought home a girl."

"How is that surprising?"

"Well, it's more the fact that she's respectful. The last girl you brought home was gobby."

Will clenches his jaw.

"Evie, right?" Klaus asks.

"I've told you to shut up about her."

"Still a tough subject?"

"Klaus," his dad warns him. "Let's give the girl a chance. Please, sit with us."

I look over at Will and wait for him to react. He takes a deep breath, holds onto my hand, and sits down at the table. I stare down at the bagels and salad, unsure whether to use the knife and fork or my hands. I wait and scan over the others, watching how they eat before I copy what they do.

Will plays with his food and slouches into his body, refusing to make eye contact with anyone other than me.

He acts completely different around them compared to how he acts with me.

"So, River, what do you plan to do?" Terry asks me.

"For what?"

Him and Klaus laugh. I drown in a shade of red. Will glares at them both.

"What do you want to do as a job?" he asks again, but in a patronising way.

It's not common that I strongly dislike a person, but Terry is one of those people. I do not like him at all. Mostly because he reminds me of my dad. Just being in the same room as him is making me feel uncomfortable.

I want to leave, but I force myself to stick it out.

"I'm not sure yet," I tell him truthfully.

Terry looks offended, even though my future has nothing to do with him. "I hope you plan on doing something."

"Yeah, of course. I'm just not sure what yet."

"Hmm." His beady eyes are judging me. He's clearly suspicious, but I'm not sure why. "Just have to make sure. I don't want someone sponging off my son and using him for money."

Will drops his fork on his plate and scowls at his father. "What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me? I'm looking out for you."

"You're acting like you're better than her — which you're not. Just stop judging people all the time, I'm fed up of it."

Olivia sighs and rests her head in her hands. "Just one night! One night of peace! Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently it is to your son," Terry mumbles, shaking his head in Will's direction.

"I'm your son, too."

"Unfortunately," Klaus smirks.

I look to Terry, waiting for him to object or just speak up or something—anything. They just sit there and allow Will to think that it's the truth. I swear I saw Terry grin slightly, but I can't be sure. Either way, it's enough for me to pull my eyebrows together.

"You see, River, Will is not familiar with manners and respect. We've done everything we can, we give him everything, but it's still not enough. This is what he does every night. He causes arguments on purpose because he enjoys it. He likes upsetting people," Terry tells me. "Be careful of that, okay?"

"You're so full of shit," Will scoffs.

Klaus picks up his water and throws it over Will, soaking his face and chest. "Don't talk to dad like that."

Will rubs the water out of his eyes and stands abruptly, breathing heavily as his anger consumes him. Anger that he's told me he hates, anger that he tells me he always regrets afterwards.

I can see that he's about to lunge for his brother, so I quickly grab his hand and give it a squeeze. "Will. Let's go."

His face is tensed and his shoulders are rising with each drastic breath he takes. "Where?"

"You can stay at mine. You can bring Ginger," I tell him in a shaky voice because I know his entire family can hear me. But I try to ignore their very presence, because right now Will needs me.

"Excuse me, young lady," his mum says in a stern tone, gaining my attention. "He's quite alright here, thank you."

For some reason, this manages to push all my buttons at once. She is completely oblivious to the fact that they all bully and mistreat him, and then she has the audacity to say that he's fine.

I narrow my eyes in her direction. "He's clearly not. How can you sit there as his mother and allow him to be treated this way?"

Her jaw drops to the ground at my remark. She looks eager to grab me by the ear and chuck me out of her house. I wouldn't complain if she did just that. I'm desperate to escape this toxic environment.

Terry stands from his seat, darkness spilling in his eyes. I try to not to shiver when I notice his expression that looks just like my dad when he would grow angry towards me. All of a sudden, I'm ten years old again and awaiting a screaming match.

"He's staying here," Terry tells me in a calm but strong voice. He's clearly used to getting what he wants.

I gulp and look up at Will. "It's up to you," I tell him.

All the anger has slipped away from his expression. His shoulders are relaxed and he just looks completely calm.

"Let's go," he tells me, half smiling.

I clip Ginger's lead to his collar and wait for Will to pack a bag. It's awkward to wait right there with his family all scowling and glaring into my soul, but I try my hardest to ignore them.

"Well done." Terry claps in Olivia's face.

"Me?" she suddenly screams. "How is this my fault? It's your fault!"

"You're the one who invited her for dinner."

"Oh, so I'm the bad guy for doing something nice? You was the one who made fun of him."

Terry chews the meat in his mouth aggressively, staring ahead at the wall. "He's definitely your son."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's defiant! He never listens, he causes trouble, never takes any accountability."

"You're a peace a shit."

It starts to dawn on me that this is what Will has to deal with every night. I knew it was bad because of everything he told me, but I didn't realise it was to this extent. I've been here for ten minutes, and I'm already exhausted. My mind is loud, my heart is thumping, the room is becoming smaller and smaller. I can only imagine what is going on in Will's head.

"It's Will's fault," Klaus interrupts.

I thought Will was exaggerating when he said his brother is a nightmare. Now I know that he wasn't. He was actually being very truthful.

Will jogs back down to me with two backpacks on his shoulders and one cigarette in between his lips. My stomach drops when I realise that this has caused him to turn back to old, unhealthy habits.

I hope he doesn't light it. I hope he somehow manages to find the strength to throw it away.

"If you leave, you can forget coming back here again," Terry warns Will.

Will looks unsure as he says, "Good."

None of them care when we leave. His mother doesn't grab his bags and fall to the floor and plead him to stay. His father doesn't cry and express how much he hates himself for treating Will the way he has. His brother doesn't run to him and wrap his arms around his body, preventing him from leaving.

None of them care.

It's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever had to witness.